Set up fast track courts to punish rioters: Tariq Anwar

Holding the BJP responsible for the Muzaffarnagar riots, union minister of state for agriculture and food processing Tariq Anwar on Monday demanded institution of fast-track courts to punish the culprits.

Talking to newspersons here on Sunday, Anwar, who is also the Nationalist Congress Party general secretary, said those responsible for the riots must be brought to justice at the earliest in order to deter others.

He said Muzaffarnagar was still tense and fearful people were forced to continue to stay in the relief camps.

He emphasised the need for concrete measures to restore trust among the two communities.

Anwar said NCP president Sharad Pawar had sent a fivemember team to Muzaffarnagar and directed him to meet governor BL Joshi to brief him about the committee’s report.

Briefing journalists about his meeting with the governor, the minister said he demanded that he act on his own discretion so that peace could be restored as soon as possible in the riot-hit areas. He alleged BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi wanted to convert UP into Gujarat. “This is why he has sent his representative (Amit Shah) to UP as the state incharge,” he pointed out.

Anwar further alleged Modi wanted polarisation to take place but his designs, he claimed, would not succeed.

Replying to a question, the NCP leader said Lalu Prasad Yadav’s going to jail would split votes in Bihar.